Transportation infrastructure, sustainability and affordable housing are all in play as Connecticut sets out for a busy bond-sale week.
The state intends to issue $1 billion of special tax obligation bonds, which fund transportation projects and are payable from state tax revenues largely derived from transportation activities.
That tax-exempt deal will come in three tranches that include $875 million of new money, $12 million of refunding bonds and $145 million of forward delivery refunding bonds. Goldman Sachs is lead manager.
S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings assign A-plus ratings to the bonds. Kroll Bond Rating Agency and Moody’s Investors Service rate them AA-plus and Aa3, respectively.
The state plans to fund much of its significant capital needs with additional parity bonds. Projections call for parity borrowing of $875 million annually through fiscal 2026.
Also on Thursday, to commemorate Earth Day, the Connecticut Green Bank is planning a $23.6 million negotiated issuance of state-supported solar home renewable energy credit Green Liberty Bonds. The retail order period is Wednesday.
These bonds are lower-denomination, offered in $1,000 increments. Proceeds will be independently certified as financing infrastructure projects with climate and environmental benefits.
“Climate change is real and there’s so much more to do,” Bryan Garcia, president of the Rocky Hill-based bank, said on an investor call. “In the midst of a global pandemic with so much uncertainty, the support of this new sub-category of green bonds was overwhelming.”
Connecticut lawmakers in 2011 established the organization as the nation’s first green bank.
The bank’s inaugural $16 million issuance last July won The Bond Buyer’s annual award for
The taxable bonds, which received an A rating from S&P Global Ratings, are modeled after the World War II Series-E bonds, which more than 80 million Americans purchased. They are exempt from Connecticut state income tax.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. is lead underwriter. Ramirez & Co. is co-underwriter. Kestrel Verifiers has certified that the issuance meets green standards.
On Tuesday, the
CHFA lends more than $500 million dollars annually for affordable housing. Its financing has reached all 169 Connecticut municipalities. To date, the combined mortgage financing for its single-and multifamily housing programs exceeds $17 billion.
The authority has added a refinance loan program for owners of mobile manufactured homes. The homes must be the borrowers’ primary residence, and sit in a year-round, state-licensed mobile home park.
These homes “are an affordable option for low- and moderate-income buyers just starting out and for homeowners who are downsizing,” said CHFA chief executive Nandini Natarajan.
